Fates Parallel (A Xianxia/Wuxia Inspired Cultivation Story)

Hyeong Aecha quickly skimmed over the list of documents for her mistress to deal with, briefly contemplating how to assess their importance for sorting purposes. Since none of it was truly urgent, she chose to arrange them based on what she anticipated the empress would want to see first.

Thus prepared, she entered Hayakawa Kaede’s office and bowed.

“Good morning, Mistress. I have today’s deliveries for you.”

Lady Hayakawa looked up from her work and blinked.

“Oh, is it morning already? I got caught up going over this last set of reforms. Even the most stubborn warlords will struggle to reject these, I’m certain of it. This time away from Yamato has done wonders.”

Aecha inclined her head as she approached the desk.

“I’m glad to hear it, Mistress. I’m afraid I cannot say the same for Lady Ashikaga, as the first article for your attention is a list of damages from local establishments.”

Hayakawa Kaede frowned as she accepted the document in question.

“Bar fights again? I thought she was keeping busy by giving guest lectures for martial arts at the academy.”

“Yes. She seems to have brought her students with her this time, which may explain why the damages are more extensive than usual.”

The empress sighed and signed the documents, approving the expenses.

“We’ll have to return soon. She’s going stir crazy without a military force to command. For now, let’s have her chaperone a student hunting expedition.”

“As you wish, Mistress. The next article is also a demand for reparations.”

Aecha handed over the documents, and Hayakawa chuckled as she read over them.

“From Goryeo—they certainly didn’t waste any time. Hah! One of their demands is a xiantian grade neutral mana crystal to replace the expended mana stones in the Sky Hall.”

“You’re strangely chipper about our largest ally demanding strategic resources from us.”

“Well, I did promise to repay them, and I suppose I’m just proud of the girls for passing their exams. Heian in particular managed to ascend to xiantian—or something similar. She’s one of a kind, now.”

As Hayakawa smiled fondly at the document, Aecha cocked her head and adjusted her glasses.

“Pardon me for speaking out of turn, Mistress, but I believe your daughter was one of a kind long before her ascension.”

Her mistress looked up at her with wide-eyed surprise.

“Oh? Yes, I suppose so. Even after all this time, I feel strange calling her that. I’m Yoshika, of course, and Heian barely distinguishes between our aspects, but I still think of her as Jia and Eui’s. As Hayakawa Kaede, I’m actually most proud of Lee Narae—I helped her develop her signature technique, you know.”

“I’m aware, yes. I was often present when Lee Narae came to the palace to visit the young mistress, and she spoke at length of your training sessions. You left quite a positive impression on her, I think.”

Hayakawa blushed, failing to hide her delight.

“At the time I just thought of it as repaying my debts to Yoshika. I could never have imagined that I’d later become part of her.”

“I doubt anybody could have, my lady. If Miss Heian is the daughter of Lee Jia and An Eui, then have you considered a child of your own?”

Aecha’s mistress did a double-take.

“You’re being unusually bold today, Aecha.”

“Perhaps your good mood is infectious. I can restrain myself, if you prefer.”

“No, please—the last thing you need is to be more restrained. I suppose I’ve thought about it. While my father’s legacy is nothing but a blight, I’d rather the Hayakawa clan didn’t die with me.”

“Only that?”

Kaede hummed thoughtfully.

“No. Maybe it’s contrarian of me, but after being raised while immersed in nothing but military doctrine and martial arts, I think I’d enjoy the option to just raise a family in peace. Of course, that requires me to achieve peace in the first place.”

“With respect, Mistress, if you place your personal dreams behind such lofty goals, it may come to pass that you never realize either.”

She sighed.

“Maybe you’re right, Aecha, but it’s all just a distant dream right now, isn’t it? Yamato is still unstable, and Qin remains a nebulous threat. I simply haven’t the time to pursue romance.”

Aecha pursed her lips.

“You remind me of my brother. He too wants to start a family, and he too thinks that he doesn’t have the time to actually do so. Neither of you is likely to find what you seek if you aren’t willing to actually seek it. Hm, come to think of it, weren’t you two rather close while conspiring to create this nation?”

Hayakawa raised an eyebrow at her, and Aecha carefully refused to meet her gaze. Oops, she’d been a bit too direct, there.

“I appreciate the advice, Aecha, but please save me the matchmaking.”

She bowed apologetically.

“Of course, Mistress. My apologies for overstepping.”

“It’s fine, Aecha. I don’t mind you speaking your mind, but I’d prefer it if you were more direct about your intentions.”

Caught. She should have known better than to expect anything less of Empress Yoshika.

“Very well. There’s one more article here that requires your attention—a message from Qin, actually.”

“Oh? How was it delivered?”

Aecha handed over the document and frowned.

“Apparently it was self-delivering. Something more commonly seen in Goryeo.”

Kaede accepted it and began reading, her eyes widening as she went.

“It’s from Sovereign Shen Yu. It seems that the princesses have made good on their promise to deliver our invitation, and he’s agreed to meet with us to ‘discuss terms,’ whatever he means by that. Strangely, there’s no mention of when this meeting is supposed to take place...”

The letter disintegrated in her hands, and an enormous pressure fell over the room. An aperture opened up in thin air, and a man dressed in pure white robes stepped through. His long beard and neat top-knot matched the color of his robes, and he stroked it slowly as he took in his surroundings with a scowl.

Aecha swallowed nervously as she exchanged a worried glance with her mistress.

“Rather presently, I should think.”

Kaede pursed her lips and glared at the intruder.

“Indeed. Sovereign Shen, I would say welcome to Jiaguo, but you seem to have rather rudely forced your way in.”

He sniffed disinterestedly and turned to meet her gaze.

“Time, it would seem, is of the essence. I’m told you have credible intelligence that the divine seal will fail within the decade.”

Hayakawa Kaede sighed and shook her head.

“Aecha, for your own sake it might be best if you took the rest of the day off.”

She bowed gratefully.

“Thank you. Shall I inform the High Arbiter of our unexpected guest?”

Lee Jia stepped out of thin air behind Kaede and shook her head.

“No need. I’ve already told her. She’s on her way over now along with Lin Xiulan.”

Shen Yu scoffed.

“If I was here for a fight, I would not be giving you time to rally your forces. This is an overreaction.”

Lee Jia sneered up at the ancient deity’s avatar.

“Last time you dropped in on us unannounced, you tried to violate our soul just to get information. I’m not taking any chances.”

Moments later, Yan Yue and Lin Xiulan stepped into the room, thoroughly surrounding Shen Yu with nearly the entirety of Jiaguo’s xiantian forces. Yan Yue put a gentle hand on Aecha’s shoulder, startling her.

“You’re dismissed, Miss Hyeong. Please take shelter in Lee Jung’s residence nearby.”

“R-right, thank you.”

She bowed and hurried out of the room. While Aecha was happy to be of service, she knew her limits.

 

---

 

Yoshika stared down the ancient god who’d invaded her home with two sets of eyes. Eui’s body couldn’t attend, but her mind was at full attention while she appeared to meditate back in Goryeo. In the meantime, Li Meili was subtly guiding people into safe locations to prepare for the worst. Yoshika’s true body stayed within the soul realm, but it too was on high alert to prepare for any spiritual attacks—Shen Yu was a known user of soul magic.

He lazily surveyed the powers surrounding him and sighed.

“Would it make you feel better if I formally surrendered? This avatar is entirely disposable, and you waste our time with this show of force.”

Jia crossed her arms and frowned.

“We might be more inclined to trust you if you hadn’t breached our defenses to intrude directly into the heart of our empire.”

“I was invited. We both know that I represent no threat to you here—you are at the height of your power, while my avatar is severely limited. I cannot even draw power from my true self, due to the very same seal which you called me here to discuss.”

“The seal you put in place.”

He nodded calmly.

“Indeed. Though I was not alone in doing so. I had the cooperation of the other divine sovereigns—even Longyan, albeit begrudgingly. By all rights, this place should have been reduced to a husk. A barren tomb world, where the Bloody Sovereign and his legacy could waste away and ultimately be forgotten.”

Lin Xiulan raised her eyebrows and scoffed in disbelief.

“You’re admitting it, now? That’s quite a different tale than the one you gave the great sects.”

“Naturally. If they knew that I was attempting to engineer their doom, they would have been less cooperative. That lie no longer serves my ends.”

The audacity would be jarring if he weren’t representing one of the most powerful entities in the entire universe. Instead, it was just infuriating. Kaede rose from her desk and leaned over it, glowering.

“And now that we know that, you still think there’s value in negotiating with us?”

Sovereign Shen raised an eyebrow at her.

“It was you who called for this meeting, was it not? I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think there was anything to be gained. The divine seal is failing—has already failed in its original purpose—and as the cracks continue forming, it’s you standing at the epicenter.”

Kaede worked her jaw irritably. She didn’t like that Shen Yu was forcing the meeting on his terms, nor that he was controlling the pace. He was right, though—it had been her idea to negotiate in the first place, and they might never get another chance.

“Alright, let’s talk then. But first, we should move somewhere less crowded than my study.”

Without waiting for a response, Yoshika led the group out into the courtyard, withdrawing an assortment of tables and chairs from her soul realm to accommodate the unexpected assembly.

As she did, Lin Xiulan narrowed her eyes at Shen Yu.

“I have to ask an important question, before we proceed. Did he know?”

The old deity regarded her impassively as he responded.

“You’ll need to be more specific. To whom and what are you referring?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about! Did the god-emperor know that you were trying to kill us all when he handed you the keys to his empire?”

“He knew what he needed to know. For what it’s worth, he advocated quite strongly against it.”

Xiulan scoffed in disgust.

“Out of his own self-preservation, no doubt.”

“It’s not my place to speculate, and regardless, I’m certain you’ve already made up your mind.”

She grimaced, but Shen Yu’s attention was already elsewhere. He furrowed his brows as he openly examined Yoshika, and she could even feel his domain probing at hers.

“You’ve died, haven’t you?”

Jia paused mid-stride and gave him a curious look.

“A few times now, why?”

He waved a hand dismissively.

“I don’t mean something as trivial as bodily death. You have reincarnated your soul and dragged yourself back from oblivion. You have experienced true death, and true resurrection.”

“I suppose I have. What business is it of yours?”

“None except that it is the hallmark of true immortality. In the divine realm, what you call ‘xiantian’ is frequently conflated with true immortals, but the real definition applies only to beings such as yourself. That, more than anything, is why I have chosen to accept your entreaty. Though the gulf between us is as wide as the cosmos, we are nevertheless peers—of a sort.”